The Effect of Field Training Officers on Police Use of Force
研究现场培训警官对警员使用武力的因果影响，发现培训警官的武力倾向每增加一个标准差，警员武力使用上升14%至18%，且效果持续至少两年，为警察改革提供新方向。
The influence of on-the-job training and supervisors, especially in high-stakes settings like policing, is poorly understood. Examining a central behavior in the debate surrounding police reform, we investigate the impact of a field training officer (FTO) on a recruit’s use of force. Leveraging a setting with conditional as-good-as-random assignment, we demonstrate a causal link between FTO and recruit use of force. A 1 standard deviation increase in FTO force propensity leads to a 14 to 18 percent rise in recruit force, persisting for at least two years. This underscores field training’s impact and reveals a promising avenue for reform.